Chasing Pavement

Just finished watching this movie. It's one of those movies were you THINK you will only devote a small time to wet your curiosity as to what it may be all about. And if this is You too BE WARE! This movie is "Captivating" and you will be kept mesmerized and find yourself watching it straight through to the end. It is DEEPLY touching (that I cried -- although but not tragic) and so revealing of hustler life in NY & relatable. And Yet, I have one criticism: the ending. I was SO FRUSTRATED. Questions were left UNANSWERED. I don't want to spoil it for you by telling you what those issues I had were, because it is so It is worth seeing anyway. Yet, I hope there is a sequel or that they will make decide one. However, the ending is NOT all frustrating. The ending was WELL done anyway & one of the most touching parts of the movie. There is a surprise twist at the end, it's well waiting for. Let's just say, the film comes "full circle". Aside the story line leaving us a BIT hanging at the end, I LOVED IT!!!

A porn star leads multiple lives--Rashawn, the young actor he aspired to be but now he's Elijah, the hot porn star and escort who still struggles to pay the rent. I found this independent effort to be a subtle, intelligent view at the complicated life of an adult star and the accidental relationships he finds himself in. 'Chasing Pavement' is a quiet character study of a young black porn star, Elijah Young , who has created walls around his life to keep his livelihood discrete but also to keep his own desires trapped within. He has an 'escort affair' with a troubled Latin man, Bryson, played by real adult star Antonio Biaggi, then, he develops a random friendship with a young Asian, Takeshi, which ultimately takes a dramatic turn. The film is quite literary and intimate in its look at the randomness and disappointments of modern gay life and it's refreshing that the filmmaker opted to cast real-life adult stars in dramatic acting roles. Although the performances are somewhat amateurish, there's a certain legitimacy of casting here and an interesting exploration of a diverse cast of characters confronting each other. The themes of emotional disconnect within cycles of intimacy and abandonment are very truthful. A serious gay independent film effort for those looking to deal with more 'real' in their films than the usual happy-go-lucky standard gay film fare.

No, the Adele song is not featured. Not sure they could afford her.

It's harder to be a critic against micro-budgeted, independent films as you how incredibly hard it is to film, finance, get talent, keep talent, distribute, advertise, etc. I'm generally softer here because I despite ANY flaws, I see a ton of heart. Chasing Pavement is not an exception: a ton of heart/actors/crew committed.

Basically, it's about a gay internet/porn star with baggage (on paper only) who is need of a roommate and a straight man in need of a place to live. Only, this new roomie isn't a Crazy Rich Asian who can afford a New York Place. But, enough about that, it's more about, I guess, chasing pavement. (Yes, I had to look up what that meant.)

I wouldn't call this anything groundbreaking, the dialogue wanted to be smarter/deeper than it was, the acting was okay - but, again, still with a lot of heart and they were definitely trying their best and it did keep my interest until the end. I was most invested in Takeshi's (the Japanese Immigrant) story and I did like seeing the actor really trying to emote.

My hope is that these folks did proceed and continue pursuing their dreams.

***

Final Thoughts: Don't let any of my criticisms above discourage this cast/crew or anyone else trying to make their visions come true. I hope ALL get out there and make their movie using their voice and continue to grow.

This is kind of an odd film since it dealt with subject-matter which COULD have been interesting, namely, 1) a day in the life of a porn star 2) real vs imagined/public vs private identity 3) gender/sexual fluidity. However, it really didn't land on any one of those, and didn't give ANY of them enough time and dedication to be meaningful; it was just all over the place. The dialogue and acting was very rigid (you can tell that several of the participants have had no formal training and this is probably their first time in front of the camera). The details got pretty specific to the point of being irrelevant to the story (they made it a point to ensure we knew the lead was a "black, bareback bottom porn actor"...why not just porn actor? Or even black actor? What purpose did the specifics serve?). If there was an actual deeper meaning it was lost.

The last I heard any photo/video adds ten pounds to the subject regardless of who it is. Remi has never been the muscular gym type of guy but his booty sure as hell doesn't look sexy at all. He did admit that he has HIV (and I have no problem with that) but let's face it, when you see anything about Remi Mars of course you're expecting to see his butt. I want prepared for that. I wish I hadn't watched this because now I have not only a negative view of him but also a lot of other clearly druuged out younger porn stars with bubble butts and can handle monstrous sized men until they burst inside.